ABDF

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Hi everybody!

Just a quick vignette that happened last night. I thought it pretty funny, and so want to share it with you.

Just down the road apiece there is a beer shop I sometimes drink at. A beer shop is precisely that: a small, usually dingy, place where you can buy beer. Technically you can’t buy anything harder (ie: arrack) at a beer shop, but usually there’s a bottle or two hidden behind the counter for those who want a shot.

Anyway, a lot of these places have a room or two in the back where you can go and sit. Very basic: a few plastic tables and chairs, and a ceiling fan or two, but that’s it. I know of one place that has a TV. Sometimes there’s some space outside in the back as well. You can buy beer, sodas, and short eats to nibble on. Cigarettes are generally sold, as they provide high profit margin for the shopkeeper.

The one nearest me is run by a guy named Kumar. He’s a nice enough fellow, and his English is really good; he was the last class to graduate having all their schooling in English. His year they changed the law to teach in either Singhala or Tamil; a HUGE mistake, as it helped set the country back a generation, and was one of the causes of the civil conflict.

Anyway, so there is Kumar, minding the shop/bar. He has one old guy named Sasitharan who waits on the tables and cleans up. Sasitharan doesn’t speak much English beyond “hello” and “goodbye” and in fact is a little soft in the head. Usually when I go there, mostly with my friends Pushpakaran and/or Sivashathan, they have to deal with him in Tamil.

So last night the three of us went with another friend, Kirupa. Pushpakaran starts to order in Tamil, when suddenly Sasitharan whips arounds, stares at me with narrowed eyes, and says “Bon jour.”

Startled I reply: “Bon jour. Comment ça va?” (“Hello. How are you?”)

“Ça va bien, merci.” (“Fine, Thanks.”) And then he proceeds to rattle off in French! Turns out he also speaks Dutch and Spanish (which I switched us to, as I speak it better), having lived in Europe for 10 years working as a waiter.

Now, my French is less than basic, while my Spanish is functional. But I can easily talk food in both languages.

So to the open-mouthed astonishment of my friends I was able to place our orders for food and drink with Sasitharan. And for the rest of the evening, he spoke only in French or Spanish. When he brought us some samosas (a delicious triangular fried pastry stuffed with minced vegetables) I said “Voila le fois-gras!” (“Here’s the paté!”). He giggled and said “Avons de escargots aussi!” (“We have escargot, too!”) and I would end up being the one doing the translations! (Pardon my atrocious French spelling.)

The world can be a funny place, n’est pas?

xoxoxoxoxo

B.